Release courtesy of ESF Athletics
NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The College of New Rochelle men's soccer team traveled to Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on Saturday, October 28 for the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference semifinal round against SUNY ESF. The Blue Angels would fall in the well fought out game with a score of 1 - 2.
CNR came out of the gates dominating the pace of the game. In the fist five minutes of the game the Blue Angels controlled the possession and found three early chances at goal that did not seem to find the net.
Twenty minutes into the first half after a foul called against the Blue Angels, SUNY ESF converted a free kick opportunity to take a 0 - 1 lead. Later in the half with less than five minutes left, SUNY ESF made it a two point game off of a defensive mistake by the CNR Blue Angel back line.
The team would use their halftime to regroup and have a tough talk to refocus to start the second half. At the end of the halftime discussion with Coach Antonio, the team took the field ready to give it their all. Once the whistle blew, CNR took the game to SUNY ESF dominating possession throughout the whole second half. The team was creating chances at goal early on.
At the 66th minute CNR found the back of the net when sophomore and leading goal scorer for the Blue Angels Cesar Rodriguez (Santa Ana, CA) would put CNR on the board bringing the score to 1 - 2. With a 1 - 2 deficit, CNR continued to apply pressure in search of a second goal, but could not find the back of the net again.
In response to the final score and overall season the men's soccer team had Coach Antonio says, "Regardless of the result, our team and every single individual player left everything they had on that field and we could not be happier for what we were able to accomplish this season. Despite the obstacles, we chose to rise above as individuals and as a team and accomplish something that seemed so distant. This season has taught us to be resilient, and this is a trait that will carry us into next season where we will strive to be better and do better."
